Spiral and super stretch hoses?

[Nemrod]

Down in the non-ebay section the thread on Dan's new hoses mentions spiral hoses, where there ever any spiral wound hoses? Now that I think about it I don't really recall any. All of the hoses and regs I have with both original and reproduced hoses are NOT spiral wound.

Would spiral wound be an improvement? I can see how a spiral would be much better at draining water and reducing the likelyhood of bacterial growth which has not actually ever been a problem for me (yet?) but I know it has happened--back in the day.

Dan's new super stretch hoses are only very slightly larger (if at all) in diameter than the standard hoses and they do stretch nicely!! Kinda have to get used to looking at them too. Compared to those giant floatys on the New Mistral these are hardly anything unusual as they are essentialy a standard hose with twice as many convolutions.

JFYI, you can get the super stretch hoses directly from VSS for a few bucks cheaper than on ebay. I think he has an introductory price on them or something like that. Any way, I bought one set from him for my PHOENIX Royal Aqua Master (when I am so lucky as to get one). Yippieeeee, yahooooooo.

Speaking of hoses and all that, which do y'all prefer in a mouthpiece, the V shaped ones, the USD curved ones or the straights. I kinda like the straights best. What do you guys like?
Nemrod

[simonbeans]

Aesthetically the straight ones are my favorite. But I prefer to dive the later curved because the mouthpiece portion that goes into your mouth comes out of the main section above center. Thus if you have a little water in the mouthpiece it lies on the lower section of the body and less likely to be sucked into your mouth. Not a big deal, but something I noticed.

[1969ivan1]

I like the voit gray mouthpieces but they are a rare find in good condition!

[oldmossback]

James,

I do not think there ever were any sprial convoluted hose for scuba, but the idea might be worth looking into........ie: the air would tend to spin I think and have less tumbling effect than the std. hose would cause, thus less breathing resistance.....(this is conjecture on my part, 16 to 20 inches may not be enough distance to matter for the air flow)......draining, as you stated, would be easier.............also, the actual dia. of the hose would be subject to moving air, not just thru the center as is in the std. scuba convoluted hose.

If someone wants to shoot this theory full of exhaust holes, please be my guest.........this is something I would like see discussed and dissected....

[1stab]

I think having hoses that spiral would be great if nothing more than to drain more easily. I takes more than a week for the water to dry in my hoses. And that's with removing the mouthpiece and flinging the hoses hither and thither every few days. I think I'll acquire them soon.

[duckbill]

If I remember correctly, spiral hoses were experimented with, and may have appeared on some European regulators. Anyhow, spiral corrugations DO NOT stretch nearly as well as standard corrugations, are more rigid, and they tend to TWIST some as they stretch.

I really don't believe spiral would drain any better, either. What doesn't come out of the corrugations by spinning the hoses are droplets. Droplets will stay put in the recesses no matter what type of corrugations are used, even when hung vertically. After spinning to remove most of the water, I subsequently shake the hoses every several hours to displace the droplets for easier evaporation.

In short, spiral is not the answer.

[duckbill]

...spiral corrugations....are more rigid....

I meant more rigid as far as stretch. They may actually be more susceptible to collapsing since the rings are incomplete.

[William]

My 2 little girls seemed to get an ear infection from swimming in the Local City Pool all the time, untill a Nice lady Doctor said the she mixed something like 50/50 Distilled Water and Alcohol and used a couple of drops in her Little Girls Ears just after they were done swimming. It dried out of their ears Very Very Fast and Never Ever caused irritation to their ears. My girls NEVER got another Ear Infection after that. I am wondering if this Mix or some other type that may have no Damageing Effect to the Hose Rubber could be used as a Quick Rinse inside the Hoses and evaporate very Fast because of the alcohol. Another thought would be Putting a Blower on the ends of the Hose which could dry them out Super Fast too and be just that simple to keep Bacteria from Exploding Inside the Hoses. May not need anything but a rinse and air blow dry. I have well over 40 Double Hose Regulators and Not One has Spiral Hoses on them.So the discussions about it are a wonder to me. William

[Nemrod]

I am sure there is a rinse that would not harm the rubber and reduce bacterial growth, perhaps some of the soaps/rinses for BCs and wetsuits I see in the dive shops with anti-bacterial properties. Not sure but I think alcohol would damage the rubber. I wonder what they used back in the day to prevent bacteria?
Duckbill has some good points on the spirals, never thought about it much but he may be right in that they would perhaps tend to twist as they were stretched, maybe? Odd that USD never produced a spiral hose if there was a benefit to them.
Nemrod

[William]

Hey Reading Nemrods Reply, I just WONDER if Aqua Lung, the Maker, has ever done ANY RESEARCH in the areas of this problem at any time in the Past. They just Might, Already, Have a Rinse or Spray Formula that they could advise us on??? If Not, after the problem has been documented with questions, they may try and help us Now, at This Time. I bet they would:P William

[duckbill]

Another thought would be Putting a Blower on the ends of the Hose which could dry them out Super Fast too and be just that simple to keep Bacteria from Exploding Inside the Hoses.

One of my pending projects here is to make just such a blower for my booties so they can dry more quickly and efficiently. All I'd have to do would be to make a couple extra arms to the manifold for the double hoses. Thanks for the thought. It really does not take much air flow at all to greatly increase the drying time. The main idea is to just move the moist air out so drier air can take it's place to absorb more moisture. I plan on using a little 110V computer blower fan and making a PVC manifold with vertical fingers on which to invert my booties. Should work fine.

I'm pretty sure I remember the Navy manuals of the day specifying very stringent hose disinfectant procedures. They probably name the disinfectant, but whether it has or had an exact civilian counterpart I don't know. I'm sure there are rubber-safe disinfectants that are inexpensive and easily obtainable. I wouldn't be surprised if the neoprene wet suit disinfectants are a good place to start.

[William]

I know that Cabela's (Outdoor Goods) sells 2 different kinds of Boot Dryers. Those may be too hot for the Regulator Hoses thouogh. I do not know if the Heat setting is adjustable but if it is, then this could be excellent for keeping the Hoses clean and dry. William

[duckbill]

I just checked my manuals and they specify rinsing in 'warm water' and 'warm soapy water'. I couldn't find the mention of disinfectants for which I was looking until I finally found it in double hose notes I saved to my hard drive. I'll post and condense them here for your benefit. My apologies to the author(s) as I didn't record who they were.

" The US Navy, in the 1960's, decided that after each dive the hoses should be decontaminated. We had to take the hoses off, and let them sit for 10 minutes in a disinfectant solution. I really don't know if this was necessary, or the Navy's idea of a different type of "gear harrassment" with the aftertaset it left. I also don't know if that was specific to the US Navy School for Underwater Swimmers in Key West, or was Navy-wide. However, the US Navy Diving Manual of March 1970 calls for, under 3.4.9 Maintenance, "(3) Establish a definite maintenance schedule to insure that all scuba are kept in top operating condition. (a) Provide for the disassembly and overhaul of regulators, tubes, hoses, and masks every 6 months as described in the applicable NAVSHIPS Instruction books."
Under the "Mouthpiece Assembly" in section 3.3 EQUIPMENT, the US Navy Diving Manual March 1970 states:
Quote:
(17) THe mouthpiece assembly includes all breathing circuit components between the mouth and the breathing tubes. It may include a mouthpiece connecter, cutoff valves, breathing check valves, and a surface breather valve. Most commonly it consists of the mouthpiece and a simple T-connecter for the breathing tubes. The cleaning procedure for this assembly is as follows:
(a) Disassemble breathing hoses and mouthpiece.
(b) Clean all exposed parts by scrubbing with detergent (DETERGENT, SURGICAL, 5 onces) and suitable brushes (for hoses, BRUSH, FLASK, 4 1/2 inches; for mouthpiece, BRUSH, TEST TUBE, 1 1/8 inches). THe interior surfaces of air hoses must be thoroughly scrubbed.
(c) After rinsing with fresh water, immerse all rubber parts in a 100-ppm chlorine solution for at least 2 minutes prior to reassembling. One-quarter ounce of CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE, TECHNICAL (70 percent available chlorine) in 12 gallons of water approximates a 100-ppm chlorine solution. Mouthpiece assemblies containing metal parts should be sterilized in a noncorrosive disinfectant (DISINFECTANT, GERMACIDAL AND FUNGICIDAL, 1 quart; or DISINFECTANT, GERMICIDAL AND FUNGICIDAL, 1 gallon). Disinfectant must be completely revoved from the apparatus before it is used.
I personally check for slime buildup, and wash accordingly, but at least once every several months. I still simply use diswashing soap to clean them, rinse them out in the clear water, then take them outside and whirl them hard to remove the water from inside them (do this someplace where you can spray water around, rather uncontrollably). This should suffice (most diswashing soaps now are antibacterial and antifungal, but if it's been some time, the US Navy way would be the best."

I would think chlorine would shorten the life of rubber hoses, so may not be recommended. Other disinfectant methods may be more desireable.

[duckbill]

I know that Cabela's (Outdoor Goods) sells 2 different kinds of Boot Dryers. Those may be too hot for the Regulator Hoses thouogh. I do not know if the Heat setting is adjustable but if it is, then this could be excellent for keeping the Hoses clean and dry. William

Thanks William. That is what gave me the idea. More money than what I had in mind, and I purposely didn't want to expose the dive gear to heat, for longevity's sake.

[William]

Wow, Thank you so much Duckbill. I can hardly beleive all this great information you have shared with us. You are quite the Vintage Diver allright. Thanks so much. William and many other Vintage Divers, I am Sure